KURT SPITLER

1850 Broughton Street

Carmel, IN 46032
317-829-4831
ks67feaa@westpost.net
CAREER SUMMARY
An aggressive, results-oriented leader with best-in-class company experience in
building and leading teams in Operations, Sales and Marketing, and Business Deve
lopment. Leadership positions include successful start ups, reorganizations and
turnarounds.

*General & Operations Management *Business Start-Up & Business Turnaround

*P&L Responsibility *Sales, Marketing, Brand & Channel Strategies
*Profit Improvement *Product Development
*Cost Reduction *Global Sourcing & Distribution
*Factory Consolidations *Asian & European Business Experience

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

EcoFridge, Indianapolis, IN
2009 to 2010
(Consulting role for an Eastern European/United States start up company)
Emission Free Transport Refrigeration System Manufacturer.
Consultant
Focused on establishing internal processes to streamline operations and develop
best practices in Eastern European operation.
*Developed a value stream map of the process in the Ukraine to identify problems
with quality, receiving, inspection, manufacturing, testing and export to the c
ustomer and implement necessary corrective measures.
*Developed a project plan and assisted in the successful migration of all Ukrain
e assembly into one building and implemented piece flow assembly.
*Hired a new qualified Head of Production in the Ukraine and assisted in the bui
lding of a core production team that will work to streamline assembly operations
under lean manufacturing principles.
*Insured that the Ukraine operation established adequate lean manufacturing asse
mbly procedures, labor standards and the necessary documentation for quality ass
embly.
*Worked with the internal and external design engineers towards an improved desi
gn for manufacturing of the current and future systems processes.
*Eliminated the manufacturing of many internal manufactured components and then
outsourced to higher quality and lower cost manufacturers.
*Hired a new qualified Purchasing Manager in the Ukraine with the focus on suppl
y chain cost reductions, with better quality suppliers and components, better te
rms and lead times.

TECHNICAL CONCEPTS, Chicago, IL

2006 to 2008
(Liberty Partners Portfolio Company, sold to Newell Rubbermaid April 2008)
Provider of hygiene systems created for people around the world who use and serv
ice washrooms.
Recruited by Liberty Partners to integrate and improve European operations and t
o make necessary management and organizational changes.
Executive Vice President Global Operations, Chicago, IL (2008)
Responsibilities include overall EMEA operations, along with Global Quality Cont
rol, Distribution and Procurement.
*Recruited and hired a new Managing Director and worked closely during transitio
n period.
*Assisted in successful company sales process, generating a return in excess of
60% for the investors.
Managing Director, Technical Concepts International, United Kingdom (2006-2007)
Resided in the UK, while responsible for all European, Middle Eastern and Africa
n operations which included the European Headquarters and distribution facility
in the UK, Office and a global Manufacturing facility in the Netherlands, and an
office in South Africa.
*Replaced and reorganized management teams in the Netherlands and UK locations.
*Integrated all Netherlands non-manufacturing functions into UK headquarters.
* Re-engineered soap manufacturing facility, increasing productivity by over 40%
.
*Terminated unprofitable supply contracts saving over $500k per year.
*Reduced capital expenditures by $2 million by implementing proper payback analy
sis procedures.
*Set performance goals that are tailored to each department and aligned with the
corporate objectives.
*Increased sales by 18% in 2007.

NORWOOD PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS, Indianapolis, IN 2002 t

o 2006
(Liberty Partners Portfolio Company, exited in 2004)
Leading supplier of promotional products in the United States.
Division President, Senior Vice President of Operations
Held dual role responsibility: Manage Profit & Loss of the publishing division
and direct operations company wide with 12 direct reports and 2000+ associates a
nd a SG&A budget of $70 million.
*Developed partnership with leading office supply retailer, building the foundat
ion for a new go to market platform.
*Started Norwood Special Markets Division to support growth initiatives includin
g Office Supply, Direct Mail and Gift Stores.
*Reorganized creative group to work together on projects as teams versus individ
uals to improve work flow.
*Introduced standard costing model enabling marketing department to accurately f
orecast margins by SKU.
*Eliminated over 2,400 low margin and low volume SKU's.

*Consolidated 5 manufacturing plants into existing facilities saving $14 million

in costs.
*Eliminated 1000+ positions, reducing the overall workforce 35%.
*Installed a Management Operating System measuring operator productivity on each
piece of equipment.
*Increased press run rates 20%, assembly run rates 24%, and bindery run rates 16
%.
*Decreased pad print set up time 59% and screen print set up time 68%.
*Streamlined customer service and order processing.
* Reduced cost per call an average of $0.62 and cost per order an average of $1.
81.
*Decreased order processing time on average from 2.63 days to 1.66 days.
*Increased efficiencies at largest facility saving $2.2 million annually.
*Reorganized the company's 2nd largest facility, which experienced operational p
roblems over the last 3 years.
*Decreased absenteeism from 11% to 1%, reduced customer service call abandonment
rate by 85%, and increased on-time delivery from 65% to 98%.

AMERICAN GREETINGS CORPORATION, Cleveland, OH 1998 to 2002

$2.3 billion creator, manufacturer and distributor of social expression products
.
General Manager, DateWorks (1998 to 2002)
Hired to start-up a dated products subsidiary (calendars and appointment books)
for American Greetings. Developed and implemented the business plan in the laun
ch, growth and profitability of the company with P&L responsibility with 9 direc
t reports and a staff of 49.
*Established profitability in the first year and increased it over 500% the next
2 years.
*Developed a product line consisting of over 250 SKUs.
*Established pricing and product strategies for Specialty, Mass, Food and Drug c
lasses of trade.
*Obtained top licenses in the calendar category.
*Established manufacturing in Asia and negotiated pricing, terms and conditions.
*Gained distribution in the major accounts in all classes of trade (Borders, Bar
nes and Nobles, Staples, Office Depot, Wal-Mart, K-mart, Target, Kroger, CVS, Ri
te Aid, Walgreen's and Eckerd).
General Manager, Learning Horizons (2001 to 2002)
Reorganized the children's educational company, focusing on its core product lin
e, becoming more competitive in the marketplace in order to increase market shar
e. Held P&L responsibility with 7 direct reports and a staff of 36.
*Established profitability for the first time in the company's 6 year history.
*Relocated warehouse and distribution facility, resulting in annual cost savings
of $1.5 million.
*Focused on growing core business, reducing SKU count 60%, saving $1.1 million a
nnually.
*Moved all US manufacturing to Asia, lowering the average cost of goods by 42%.
*Signed Nickelodeon licenses "Blues Clues" and "Dora the Explorer" and developed
a new line of flash cards and workbooks.

AT-A-GLANCE, Indianapolis, IN 1995 to 1998

Consumer products company specializing in the dated products business, purchased
by Mead in 2001.
Director of Sales
Developed and implemented the sales plan for the mass, food and drug channels.
*Increased profitability by 12% at Wal-Mart.
*Developed new calendar line for warehouse club channel, generating additional $
10 million the first year.
*Developed a new line of boxed note cards, using key licenses for the food and d
rug channels.
*Implemented a vendor managed inventory program at Sam's Club.

PANKOW ASSOCIATES, Chicago, IL 1993 to 1995

Sales Manager, Cleveland, OH
POLAROID CORPORATION, Cambridge, MA 1989 to 1993
Key Account Manager, Cleveland, OH
SMITHKLINE BEECHAM, Pittsburgh, PA 1986 to 1989
Territory Manager, Cleveland, OH
EDUCATION
BA, Business Administration 1986
Muskingum College, New Concord, OH